OverviewThree sisters. Motherless daughters of the high king. The eldest is the warrior-woman heir; the middle child is shy and full of witchy intuition; and the youngest, Princess Amelia, she is as beautiful as the sun and just as generous.

Ami met her Prince Charming and went away to his castle on the stormy sea-cliffs—and that should have been her happily ever after. Instead, her husband lies dead and a war rages. Her middle sister has been taken into a demon land, turned into a stranger. The priests and her father are revealing secrets and telling lies. And a power is rising in Ami, too, a power she hardly recognizes, to wield her beauty as a weapon, and her charm as a tool to deceive…

Amelia has never had to be anything but good and sweet and kind and lovely. But the chess game for the Twelve Kingdoms has swept her up in it, and she must make a gambit of her own. Can the prettiest princess become a pawn—or a queen?

Review….
This was an interesting book. You should read The Mark of the Tala first. You will get a better understanding of what has happened in the series.

We have a princess that seems to be spoiled and high maintenance. She is detail a bad deal at the start of the book. Amelia doesn’t seem like a character that I would like to read. I don’t enjoy reading about soiled princesses and in the beginning of the story that is what she is. However, we will see her grow into the queen she will be. She wants to grow and be a better person. While dealing with different areas that keep getting in the way. She will meet a mysterious man that helps her along the way. He is the from the start but you don’t know how he will play out until the very end.

I really enjoy the twists that happened and the growth in the characters. I looked how you would keep wondering what would happen. There is a lot that went in this book that is not stated in the overview or my review because it would give to much away. Just know that it is worth it to read if you enjoy the politics that happen with kings and queens plus some magic.